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The current issue of News on the Block (Issue 48) contains news about the RPTS jurisdiction being extended to cover park homes cases.  After going to press, the expected transfer of a range of jurisdictions relating to park homes, which was due to take place (subject to Parliamentary approval) from the County Courts on 6 April 2010 - was delayed. However, we understand that it is the intention of the Communities and Local Government Department to introduce it at the earliest legislative opport

QUESTION We are a small group of residents with a Company Secretary and 4 Directors. We took over the management of 31 properties with shared grounds and a maintenance charge. We need advice on our duties and whether we have to intervene in every dispute eg noisy neighbours and parking.C. Strong ANSWER You need to check the Company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, and the management lease or the transfer document to ascertain your duties and obligations. The Company will be in breach and ar

QUESTION I live in a block of flats. I am confused about whether we need to carry out a risk assessment on our block and if so, how to go about completing this? Any help would be appreciated.Name witheld ANSWER Generally, if you live in a block of flats that has internal communal areas providing common access and egress to and from the flats then this area will need to be assessed for Fire and Health & Safety risks in line with Health & Safety Legislation and Guidance. Ideally your Property Managers

[image1]Part of a valuer’s ‘basic training’ is to derive values, wherever possible, from market evidence. However, for Leasehold Reform Act valuation, there are at least two obstacles. When assessing marriage value the values needed are for the flat or house held on the current lease and the newly extended lease or freehold. Usually all flats in a block were sold on leases expiring on the same date. There may be no longer leases and so no sales to draw conclusions about the extended lease value. The Act r

What is the better option – freehold acquisition or lease extension? In principle, freehold acquisition makes sense since it gives more control of the property to the flat owners than lease extension alone and may add more value. But the practicalities of a ‘collective’ enfranchisement can quickly bring flat owners and project managers down to earth. Often, when you ask flat owners who would like to join the board of the nominee purchaser company, you can hear a pin drop! Then there is the issue of partic

As we are all aware, this has been the worst recession recorded in this country since records began and in general it has been a hard year for the majority of people. Some industries have felt it harder than others and that seems to be the case in the cleaning industry with some specialist services frozen, the frequency of cleaning services changed and contracts lost as blocks do not have the resources to pay for any contract cleaning. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous companies are doing well from kno

1. READ THE LEASE Service charges must be demanded in accordance with the Lease.2. INCORRECT DEMANDS • Identify the correct name of the Freeholder/Management company • Identify the Landlord with an address for service • Identify the correct Lessee and address (Problems arise when the owner doesn’t live there and has speci¯cally requested demands be sent elsewhere). • If in Wales, serve the Statement of Rights of Obligations in Welsh and English3. AVOID DISPUTES “Communicate with Lessees”. The Le

QUESTIONI have attached two photo’s of theexterior walls of our apartment blocks. The Blocks were completed about 6 years ago and as you can see are getting a little dirty. Most of this is caused by the coping stones not overhanging the wall sufficiently. We had the walls steamed cleaned last year but this was not terribly satisfactory. Is there a material that can be applied to the walls, so the dirt just runs off ? Or do we need to seal the concrete coping stones? Terry Willgrass ANSWER The problem you

QUESTIONI own one flat in a three-block development of 30 flats, each owner holding one share in the management company, neither of the two directors living on the premises and only one, the son, being a shareholder. The directors have proposed imminent major and costly roof repairs relying on the “experience” of one of the directors, the father and a 5 year old survey. I contend that it would be appropriate to obtain an up to date surveyor’s report to confirm that the substantial proposed works are neces

BUILDING REINSTATEMENT VALUATIONS (BRV’s) are often overlooked by property owners, who may wrongly assume that building costs rise or fall in line with inflation. This is not so and a more accurate method of establishing the true cost of rebuilding is to have the property reassessed periodically. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) states that building reinstatement value is an ‘Assessment of Building Reinstatement Cost for Insurance purposes’. The assessment is typically carried out by a

New rules potentially affecting 60,000 existing Residents Management Companies (RMCos) have come into force. Annual General Meetings (AGM’s) and the Company Secretary are abolished and there are provisions for written resolutions, email and website communications. The deadline to file annual accounts has changed too. All newly formed RMCos from the 1st October 2009 will have model default Articles (the ‘Rules’ of the company) unless otherwise decided. Elements of the simplified Articles can be adopted by

Despite a recent RICS survey showing interest rates down and rents up tenants are still facing financial pressures, leading to increased rental arrears. The National Landlords Association (NLA)have launched NLA Rent Guarantee Insurance offering a way for landlords to minimise the risk from loss of rent. Should problems arise during the tenancy, the cover also provides legal expenses and a dedicated 24-hour advisory service. Also, Barbon Insurance Group, which includes leading flat insurer Deacon Insuranc